Rough terrain and cold weather conditions have caused problems for snow plow and grader blades for as long as there have been plows. Although many modifications and alternative designs have been made to plow and grader blades in attempts to control expenses while improving the life, durability, and performance of plow blades, in particular, the life, durability and performance of plow blade edges. Most of these heretofore modifications and alterations did not provide sufficient durability and ride improving capabilities to deal with, among other things, the rough terrain and cold weather that plow blades are typically exposed to. Typically, plow edges are metallic, for example, steel, and are excessively damaged or even destroyed due to wear from contact between the plow edge and the terrain and corrosion (which is exacerbated by road salt). Such prior art blade edges must frequently be repaired or replaced.
Additionally, it is conventional to provide to the plow or plow attachment frame caster-like wheels, mushroom shoes, wear skid shoes or wear blocks which are attached to, but spaced from, the plow moldboard for the purpose of supporting part of the load on the blade. These known prior art devices are relatively bulky, expensive to manufacture, and difficult to install on the snow plow. The cast iron material typically used on the wear blocks does not provide protection against fracturing or breakage, due to the relative brittleness of cast iron, when the blocks are subjected to impacts. The result is that prior art wear blocks are expensive to maintain and replace.
Thus, there has been a need for an improved means which supports and protects the cutting edge of, for example, a plow blade from the roadbed for reducing the undesirable abrasive action on the blade edge. The disadvantages of present wear block constructions have resulted in the improved skid block-wear surface and mountings of the present disclosure which effectively reduces blade wear and block replacement resulting from road abrasion. Furthermore, the present disclosure can increase blade (cutting edge) life and wear block life, reduce blade breakage and maintenance, increase durability of carbide inserts, reduce manufacturing costs; and protect the moldboard body mounted thereto.
In one embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a combination carbide insert blade with wear blocks all combined into one unit. The carbide inserts can be a singular self-contained insert or selectively a combination of two or more inserts brazed into an opening or channel in the blade. The wear blocks can include a wear surface including an abrasion resistant carbide matrix welding deposit filling one or more cavities along, and integrated with, the wear surface.
The present disclosure describes a device, mounting method, and manufacturing method (i.e. brazing method) which can be used to provide new (or replenishment of) plow blade edges or replace worn plow blade edges, in particular, snow-plow blade edges and inserts for the plow blade edges, or other grader surface plows, that overcome many of the limitations of the prior art.